Faith and Nature: The Effect of Death-Relevant Cognitions on the Relationship Between Religious Fundamentalism and Connectedness to Nature Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • A common theme among many religions, particularly those with Abrahamic roots, is that humans are separate from the rest of nature. Though empirical support is lacking, such themes do suggest that religiosity may play a role in shaping the ways that people relate to the natural world. The present research used terror management theory to address this issue. It was hypothesized that death-relevant concerns would moderate the relationship between religious fundamentalism and feelings of connectedness to nature. Across three studies, religious fundamentalism negatively predicted feelings of connectedness to nature when death-relevant thoughts were activated. No such relationship emerged in the absence of death-relevant thought. The implications of these findings for better understanding the role of religion in human/nature relationships and current ecological issues are discussed.

published proceedings

  • SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE

altmetric score

  • 8.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Vess, M., Arndt, J., & Cox, C. R.

citation count

  • 17

complete list of authors

  • Vess, Matthew||Arndt, Jamie||Cox, Cathy R

publication date

  • May 2012